Downtown Dream

Using more parts from the buildingâs freight elevator, Applesead Workshop created a rotating entertainment center so the television can be watched in the kitchen and den. Using more parts from the buildingâs freight elevator, Applesead Workshop created a rotating entertainment center so the television can be watched in the kitchen and den. Using more parts from the buildingâs freight elevator, Applesead Workshop created a rotating entertainment center so the television can be watched in the kitchen and den.

View full sizeWade Smith purchased the Second Avenue North building about two years ago. In addition to his loft, the building houses the popular El Barrio, as well as public storage and parking.

Diners at El Barrio might assume the small herb gardens just outside the popular downtown eatery’s entrance were something cultivated by the chef, but they’d be mistaken.They actually belong to the owner and only full-time resident of the historic building.Wade Smith purchased the former Storkland Baby Furniture building on Second Avenue North about two years ago. He was living in a nearby loft at the time but wanted to find a place where he could live permanently and maybe do a little business, as well.“I actually had been under contract for buildings two other times,” he says. “They both fell through. Then one day I was walking down the street. I think I was going to Metro Bistro, and I saw this really little sign that says, ‘for sale by owner.’”The building was vacant after Storkland Baby Furniture relocated next door, making it an ideal spot for Smith to settle. It would just need a little — or a lot — of work to make it livable.According to Smith’s research, the building was built sometime in the early 1900s. “I found three different dates at the courthouse,” he recalls. “It was around 1914ish.” It was first a sewing machine distribution and repair factory. Then it was used for dry goods storage before it became a baby furniture store.Smith had some very different ideas for new uses for the building, but first it would have to undergo major renovations. Since he wanted to preserve the look and feel of the old building, he sought the help of Mike Gibson, architect and owner of Appleseed Workshop.Gibson says Appleseed specializes in sustainable building, but not in the way most would assume.“We look at sustainable from a different perspective,” he says. “For something to be sustainable, to be redeveloped, it must be beautiful already.”Smith’s building on Second Avenue was beautiful, and after a year of work, it is again.They started with 2,000 square feet, a portion of the top floor of the two-story building. The space is now Smith’s loft.Smith had some ideas on how he wanted his home to look, but he had a hard time translating them into a living space, so he turned to something he did know — superheroes. “That’s my hobby,” he says.Gibson took Smith’s superhero sketch and ran with it. Staying true to his philosophy of maintaining the integrity of the building, Gibson left the old brick walls exposed. Divider walls added to the open space are painted in mustard yellow and aqua blue, pulled from Smith’s drawing. Gibson says the blending of the old architecture with Smith’s drawing give the space a sort of “Cowboys & Aliens” feel. “I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie, but that’s what I always think of,” he says.

View full sizeThe kitchen countertop, which sits on top old wooden tables from the building, is honey onyx. Red LED lights were installed underneath to make it look like lava,

The entire space is a blend of old and new, incorporating all the objects Smith collected from the historic building. Built-in bookshelves hold old spools of thread and bottles. Rusted metal chairs hang on the brick walls, and Smith even found an old sewing machine from the factory. Wooden tables from the factory are now used as the base of Smith’s kitchen counter. The “alien” side, or the modern mix in the loft, stands out in the kitchen, where Gibson found a honey onyx countertop to sit on top of the old wooden tables. Red LED lights were installed underneath. “It makes it look like lava when the lights are dimmed,” Gibson says. Appleseed made the stainless steel cabinets, which add to the modern feel, and also serve as a nod to Smith’s beloved Birmingham, the Steel City. While the old pine floors and exposed brick walls and beams serve the same purpose now as they did nearly a century ago, Gibson found a new use for other building parts. He used the wheel from an old freight elevator in the building to create a dining room table. Other parts of the elevator were used to create a rotating entertainment center allowing Smith to watch TV while preparing food in the kitchen or while relaxing in the den space. It also serves as a room divider.Although partitions between the bedrooms and bathrooms create privacy, they stop short of the ceiling, maintaining an open feel. Old wood from the building was fashioned into a sliding barn door to give the master bedroom privacy. While the master isn’t large, it is adjoined by a large master bath. Smith’s only requirement was an open shower.Gibson took that, as well, and ran with it.He raised the shower and bath space, where one side is an open shower and on the other, a freestanding bath tub.

View full sizeApplseed Workshop and Kdag Designs worked together to design and renovate the space for El Barrio. Reclaimed wood was used to create the booths, and old bed wall from the building was used to construct the benches.

The bathroom double vanity is made of the same steel cabinetry from the kitchen. Appleseed also created the rectangular mirrors that appear to float above the sinks.Although Smith’s loft has lots to look at, he says perhaps one of his favorite things to watch are the people outside on Second Avenue. Thanks to Smith, there’s lots more of them.When he purchased the building, he knew he wanted tenants, but he wasn’t sure what types of businesses would be best. He was certain of one thing at the time, though.“I didn’t want to have a bar or a restaurant,” he says with a laugh. “I mean it’s where I sleep.”When he found out the owners of the popular Tattoria Centrale were interested in opening a new restaurant in the space, he quickly had a change of heart. Brian Somershield, Geoff Lockert and Chris Cullen opened El Barrio in late 2011. The restaurant’s Mexican-inspired menu has brought hordes of people to the Second Avenue location, and Smith says it hasn’t been a problem living above the eatery.Gibson helped develop the restaurant along with Kdag Designs, using the same “Cowboy & Aliens” style. Again the hardwood floors in the restaurant are original to the building, and the exposed brick wall is painted with a Mexican-inspired mural by tattoo parlor Non Stop Art’s Shane B.“One of the cooler aspects of this place is how much of the original building is being used,” Cullen says. “The floors are the same, and the columns are super awesome.”The bead board wall around El Barrio’s benches comes from the same material used for the entertainment center in Smith’s loft. Gibson used reclaimed wood from the property to make the restaurant’s stools.El Barrio and Smith’s loft only account for the front of the building. Smith had other plans for the back. First, he wanted a parking deck. “I figured if I did ever have tenants, I’d have to have parking,” he recalls.There are now 12 parking spaces for lease in the deck, and Smith also found a use for the rest of the second story.“I was trying to think of something that didn’t need a business front,” Smith says. “My real-estate agent suggested storage units. I thought it was stupid, but then I started asking my neighbors. They thought it was a great idea.”The space, named Second Avenue Storage, was divided into 25 storage units, and it even has a bit of a downtown feel with its white walls and doors covered in art by artists from Space One Eleven.Those renting a storage unit can enter from the front of the building, which Smith has equipped with cameras for security, though he feels completely safe both living and doing business downtown.“I love living downtown,” he says. “It’s just real nice and friendly. It’s kind of Norman Rockwell-y. I can talk with the policemen and the mailman. I know the business owners. It’s great.”